Traditional Ukrainian borscht: the beet soup with beef, cabbage and sour cream

In 2022 UNESCO declared Ukrainian borscht an intangible cultural heritage in need of safeguarding, recognizing what Ukrainians always knew: the red beet soup eaten across Eastern Europe was born there, in the black soil between the Dnieper and the Carpathians. Every region has its own, and it is said there are as many borschts as there are grandmothers.

The most common version is the one from Poltava and central Ukraine: a broth of beef or pork on the bone, into which go potato, cabbage and beans, plus a separate sauté of beets, carrot, onion and tomato, seasoned with vinegar so the beets keep their color. At the end, garlic pounded with pork fat, dill and plenty of smetana.

The classic accompaniment is pampushky, soft rolls brushed with garlic oil, and custom says borscht should rest: the next day it is at its best. It is a meal in a soup, and a big pot lasts the whole week.

Recipe card

• Origin: Ukraine
• Category: Soup, main course
• Difficulty: Medium
• Preparation time: 40 minutes
• Cooking time: 2 hours
• Serves: 8

Ingredients — broth and soup

• 800 g beef on the bone (shank or short ribs) or pork shoulder
• 3 liters water
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 allspice berries
• 3 medium potatoes, cubed
• 300 g white cabbage, thinly shredded
• 1 cup cooked white beans
• Salt to taste

Ingredients — beet sauté

• 3 medium raw beets, coarsely grated or in thin matchsticks
• 2 carrots, coarsely grated
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped (optional)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 ripe tomato, chopped
• 3 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 1 tablespoon vinegar (or juice of 1/2 lemon)
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Ingredients — to finish and serve

• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 30 g pork fat or lard (optional, traditional)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
• Smetana or sour cream
• Garlic rolls or rye bread

Method

1. Cover the meat with the cold water, bring to a boil, skim off the foam and add the bay leaves and allspice. Simmer on low for 1 hour 30 minutes, until the meat is tender.
2. Remove the meat, shred or cut into pieces and set aside. Strain the broth and return it to the pot.
3. In a frying pan, heat the oil and sauté the onion and carrot for 5 minutes.
4. Add the beets, bell pepper, tomato, tomato paste, vinegar and sugar and cook on low, covered, for 15 minutes, until the beets soften. The vinegar is what keeps the red bright.
5. Bring the broth to a boil, add the potato and cook for 10 minutes.
6. Add the cabbage and cook for another 10 minutes.
7. Add the beet sauté, the beans and the meat and cook for 5 minutes. Adjust the salt.
8. Pound the garlic with the pork fat and a pinch of salt into a paste and stir into the soup with half the dill. Turn off the heat, cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
9. Serve with a big spoonful of smetana, the rest of the dill and the garlic rolls.

Tips and variations

• Quick pampushky: bread-dough rolls baked together in a pan and brushed hot with oil, crushed garlic and dill.
• Roasting the beets whole before grating gives a darker color and sweeter flavor.
• Green borscht, for spring, swaps the beets for sorrel and includes hard-boiled egg.
• Lean version, for Lent and Orthodox Christmas: no meat, with dried mushrooms and beans.
• It is better on the second day; freezes well for 3 months.
• Do not let it boil hard after the beets go in: the color fades.
• A handful of prunes in the broth is a variation from western Ukraine.

Borscht is the red of Ukraine in a soup bowl: sweet beets, beef broth, the tang of the cream and the scent of dill and garlic. Make a big pot and let it rest until tomorrow.